Sorry Mansoor, You Must Be A Hero-Figure To Do Rape Jokes

Yesterday, Trisha roasted Mansoor for his filthy statement in a recent interview.

The interview:

The 90's villain coos overboard

In a recent interview, Mansoor expressed dissatisfaction with his role in the movie Leo, lamenting that he had no scenes of proximity with the heroines, Trisha and Madonna. Shockingly, he humorously mentioned expecting a rape scene, claiming expertise in such portrayals from his career as a villain in the 90s.

His remarks were undeniably abhorrent. Trisha's outraged tweet ignited a storm online, with netizens heavily criticizing Mansoor—an encouraging sign of accountability.

At the same time, I pondered over another interview which was aired a decade back.

The video referenced above, now removed from YouTube, is a clip from an interview with the crew of the Nanban movie (2012). In the clip, a female audience member asks Jiiva about his preferred roles in movies. Jiiva’s jaw-dropping response:

"I want to act as a villain because it would give me the chance to rape many women." (followed by laughter)

This remark, shockingly, was met with applause and laughter from the audience and the panel, including Shankar, Vijay, Srikanth, and Gopi. For the கூத்தாடி (kūttāḍī) and their supporters, it was merely a joke.

At the time, Jiiva's comment drew minimal attention, with only a few voices on Twitter raising concerns. Playback singer Chinmayi was one of the few to highlight the issue, but her efforts largely fell on deaf ears. The shit people give to Trisha now was barely given to Chinmayi.

The contemporary Trisha who has taken an oath to never act with Mansoor played a heroine figure to Jiiva in 'Endendrum Punnagai'' which was released a year after 'Nanban'.

We don't Need கூத்தாடி-s To Knock Sense 

We don’t need a Trisha to tweet before we call out Mansoor. The real issue lies in our tendency to idolize கூத்தாடி (kūttāḍi-s) to the extent that we shape our values around their opinions.

The entertainment industry is far from authentic. It projects a hologram of ideals that we wrongly adopt as our moral compass. Ten years ago, Jiiva’s appalling statement was dismissed as a joke only because celebrated figures like Vijay laughed along. Misogynistic remarks were normalized because our favorite actors condoned them.

Would anyone have cared about Mansoor’s comment if Trisha hadn’t tweeted? The truth is, many Tamizh audiences derive their values from the industry’s glossy facade.

This is dangerous.

The "Prince Charming" Effect

The film industry’s influence is highly superficial. Jiiva’s offensive remark was trivialized because of his status as a hero, his "cosmetic advantage." On the other hand, Mansoor, lacking this hero image, is branded a monster for a similar statement.

This double standard extends to the portrayal of problematic characters. For example, Madhavan’s role as a stalker in Minnale was excused because he was the "chocolate boy" hero, not a "creep."

These cheap parallels highlight the disturbing way our society filters moral judgment through the lens of an actor’s on-screen persona, creating a dangerous culture where values are shaped not by principles but by illusions.

In Minnale, Madhavan portrays a stalker who assumes a fake identity to pursue a romantic relationship with a woman he is infatuated with. When she uncovers the truth, he resorts to violence and even threatens her fiancé. Despite these problematic actions, the movie was widely celebrated at the time, and "Maddy" became a symbol of romance.

Then there are newer films like Remo that continue to promote similar problematic narratives. Actions such as violence, stalking, and misogyny go uncondemned for one glaring reason: the actors are celebrated.

As long as these behaviors are championed by a "charming hero," they are normalized and even glorified. But when someone outside the "hero" category, like Mansoor, crosses the line, society suddenly becomes morally aware.

This highlights the danger of anchoring our values to the cinematic illusion.

The Core Issue

We’ve reached a point where even our outrage and protests lack authenticity. The uproar against Mansoor is largely performative, driven by social triggers rather than genuine values. Many are simply jumping on the bandwagon, following the crowd instead of confronting the root issues.

A value system tied to the cinematic hologram is as hollow and cheap as Mansoor’s statement. Unless we break free from this illusion and ground our values in reality, we will remain trapped in a cycle of superficial reactions and misplaced ideals.